If you're the sneaky kind, look no further : this is THE game for you. It's simply the best game of the Splinter Cell series. You don't believe me? Play it and you'll see. It's so awesome, it's worth the full price and if you can get it on sale, it's such a steal, you'll be begging Steam to give them more money. Yep, it's *that* good.

Chaos theory is the best splinter cell game and arguably one of the best stealth games ever created.

The story is somewhat realistic and interesting. Tensions are running high as North Korea is threatening an all out war against America and her allies. You play as Sam Fisher, an ex-SEAL member now a 'cell' (spy) working for the a top secret sub-branch within the National Security Agency (NSA). It's your job to uncover who is behind jeopardising the relationship between the two countries and risking all out war.

The gameplay is the best component of the game. Before each mission you get a briefing with other members of Third Eschalon and their allies telling you the task and situation of the mission. You then get to select your loadout based on 'Stealth' (more stealth equipment like smoke grenades and sticky cameras), 'Assault' (More assault rifle ammo and frag grenades) or 'Reddington' (Mixture of the other two) which affects the types of equipment you will have and how much of each item you carry with you. The three options of equipment speak for themselves on how you want to approach the mission. The equipment you may have include the sileneced assault rifle, silenced pistol, sticky cameras, smoke grenades, stun grenades, frags etc. The objectives in each mission will generally require you to steal, sabotage or eliminate a target. As a 'splinter cell game' stealth gameplay is highly recommended. Besides hiding in the shadows, a new element plays a role in in the gameplay, noise. Creating too much noise (more than the ambient sound in the area which is indicated by a bar on your hud) will now cause foes to detect you which may include gun noises, broken glass and movement. As such, you can control your walking speed (which increases noise as it increases) via the scrolling the mouse wheel. The final element to the gameply is manipulating electronics via your pistol. By aiming your pistol and pressing right mouse button you can turn off an electronic device for a few seconds. The purpose of this is to not destroy the item and hence, alerting the gaurds. You can go all guns blazing in most of the missions, but this is not recommended as it not only ruins the atmosphere of the game, but you die very quickly in frontal combat. As per usual you can eliminate gaurd using lethal force or non-lethal force. Shooting gaurds is lethal as well as choosing the lethal option when grabing them from behind. Non-lethal involves choosing non-lethal ammo and knocking gaurds out after grabbing them. Another new element to the gampley is the ability to quickly walk up to gaurds and knock them out/kill them, which helps when your about to be spotted at close range.

The level design is excellent. Each level is big and unique, spotting plenty of places places to hide in such as shadows. Furthermore, there are more than one route to reach objectives including vents, doors, tunnels etc. The graphics has also aged well and looks pleasant. Finally the levels are so well designed that you can go through the entire game without killing/knocking out anyone and not being detected either.

The audio is good. Voice actors (especially Sam) do a great job at instilling the emotions of the current situation. Weapon sound are also good as well. Each level has a unique track that is played while stealthed and while being spotted. Each level has a unique soundtrack for the the previous two situations, so you won't get bored from hearing the same tarck over and over again.

If you want one of the best stealth games ever made, chaos theory will not dissapoint you.

First off, this is my favorite game of all time. I've had it for a long time in physical format, but due to it's drm it's unplayable on modern systems, so I bought the steam version. I was a bit afraid of how it would run based on some of the reviews that have reported problems, so I was ready to issue a steam refund just in case.

So here's the score: this game is flawless. I've seen some negative reviews and let me address some of them. First of all, all those who say it's unplayable with keyboard and mouse are idiots, no two ways about it. You control your speed via the mouse wheel. It's that simple. Besides, you can customize the controls to your heart's content. Second off, no, it doesn't have checkpoints. And you know why? Because it doesn't need them! It has a quicksave function! I swear, some people...

How about the game itself? It's the best stealth game of all time. Period. You have full feedback of how much noise you make and how much noise is in the environment, how visible you are, you get a lot of tools for dispatching or distracting your enemies, you have nightvision, thermal vision and even "electric" vision that let's you see objects that use electricity (useful when completing some of the objectives). It has a fairly intelligent AI. The game is a bit too easy if you just kill everyone in my opinion but it's damn fun. If you like the suspense of stealth, look no further.

The graphics still hold up to this day in my opinion. Some of the round objects are a bit angular, but it doesn't take me out of the experience, and the textures still look great. There's also a surprising ammount of color that, compared to a lot of modern games, are a breath of fresh air. The sound design is superb and the soundtrack just ups the suspense. The music is low key and dynamic, changing to the gameplay.

Some of the writing is a bit too convoluted for me. Don't get me wrong, it's good, but it's hard to follow, especially for the first time playing. You really have to invest your brain into the story or you'll get lost in it.

All in all, if you even remotely like stealth games don't you dare miss out on this one.